HEALTH MATTERS DR. PAUL DONOHUE Q. I find myself falling sound asleep at my desk, and what is worse, during business meetings. I get enough sleep, and I drink coffee nonstop to keep me awake. I think this is more than usual drowsiness. A co-worker suggested narcolepsy. Can you provide some information? I am only 27, and I am going to lose my job if this doesn't stop. A. Narcolepsy is much more than the common daytime sleepiness that so many people complain of. It's an irresistible sleep attack that arises at inappropriate times and in inappropriate places. It comes about from a derangement of brain chemicals that regulate sleep-wake cycles. It can be disabling, and it can be dangerous. Dropping off while driving is a danger to the driver and to those on the road with him or her. Three other signs often accompany sleep attacks and are valuable in arriving at the diagnosis. They are: Cataplexy -- muscle weakness triggered by laughter, anger or some other strong emotion. The weakness can be so profound that the person slumps to the floor but doesn't lose consciousness. Sleep paralysis -- an inability to move for one or two minutes upon awakening. The person is alert and is quite frightened by the fact the body won't obey the command to get moving. Hallucinations -- vivid and frequently frightening apparitions that appear just before falling asleep or just before wakening. It's not necessary that all four signs be present to arrive at the diagnosis, but the more signs one has, the greater is the certainty of diagnosis. You have me convinced that you are a good candidate for having narcolepsy. It usually begins at young ages. You need to find a doctor conversant in this condition. Your family doctor can give you a name. There are medicines that help shake the sleepiness of narcolepsy. Provigil is one example. While you're waiting for an appointment, see if you can't arrange to take 20-minute naps during the day. If you have an understanding boss, this shouldn't be a great issue. Taking that long of a nap can refresh you for one to three hours. Q. I am 6 feet 6 inches tall, weigh 288 pounds and am flat-footed. I am a constant basketball player, but one thing gets me -- I can't dunk. What can I do to change that?And how do I improve my lungs to where I can run up and down the court for every game I play? A. You mean you can't jump high. You're a big guy. It's hard to propel that much weight into the air. Gravity works against you. Your flat feet have little to do with this. Ordinarily, for increasing jumping ability I recommend a plyometric exercise called drop jumping. Plyometrics are the kind of exercise that develops explosive power. Drop jumping is done with the athlete standing on a platform or sturdily constructed box, jumping off and immediately upon landing, propelling him- or herself upward as high as possible and as quickly as possible. You're too big for this kind of exercise. It could damage your knees. But there are other ways of performing plyometrics that are easier on the knees. From a half-squat position, jump as high as you can and land on bent knees. Don't do this on a concrete surface. Find a soft surface, such as grass. Start with a few jumps, and when your body becomes accustomed to them, increase the number of jumps and decrease the time between jumps. If this exercise hurts your knees, stop it. To increase the demand of the jump, you can tuck your knees into your chest as you're airborne. Improving your lungs means improving your leg muscles and conditioning your body to withstand the demands of constant movement. You do this in only one way -- running. Basketball is a combination of spurts of running fast and somewhat slower-paced motion. You have to practice sprinting and long-distance running. Q. Does carrying heavy grocery bags with your arms hanging down constitute enough effort on muscles and bone that it can be deemed weight-bearing exercise for their development? A. Sure it does. Dumbbells and barbells are not the only things used for bone and muscle strengthening. Grocery bags count. So does body weight when you do chin-ups or push-ups. For that matter, so do many household chores. Have a health question? You can send it to Dr. Paul Donohue at P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475.